Fort Collins homeless: 'This river can take you'

Fort Collins agencies scramble to help a homeless population displaced by flooding.

Sep. 13, 2013

Bikes, owned by many of Fort Collins' homeless population, sit outside Fort Collins Rescue Mission, 316 Jefferson St. Many homeless who ordinarily stay by the river or on the street have had to seek help Friday due to severe flooding. / Sarah Jane Kyle/The Coloradoan

Written by

Fort Collins’ homeless agencies are scrambling to help a population that’s used to hiding and living by the engorged Poudre River.

Catholic Charities, one of Fort Collins’ largest homeless shelters, was stranded Friday at its 460 Linden Center Drive location. No one could get in or out of the shelter due to road closures and flooding. About 70 homeless men, women and families were stuck at the shelter and being cared for by staff.

But the shelter can’t take in any more.

Staff of the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope, 242 Conifer St., tried “every way possible” to get to the day shelter and get one-stop-shop ready Friday morning to provide needed services. Murphy Center staff set up shop at the American Red Cross evacuee shelter at Timberline Church in Fort Collins about 7:30 a.m. Friday but without access to the survival supplies, food, clothing and referral information housed at the center for much of Friday. Homeless Gear, a nonprofit housed at the center, was able to retrieve some supplies and accepted multiple donations from local businesses including blankets and sleeping pads for shelter guests.

Fort Collins Rescue Mission, 316 Jefferson St., took in as many homeless as possible Thursday night, letting people sleep on the floor to get them off the streets. Friday, the mission opened as a day shelter and took over Catholic Charities’ traditional free lunch service for about 30 people. But come Friday night, staff expected there would be no room left due to an increasing need for shelter.

“We’re anticipating a large number showing up for dinner and we know we can’t feed them all,” said spokeswoman Aneta Storvik. “We just want to do what we can to make sure everyone has a meal today and a warm, dry place to be.”

Homeless in need of shelter were accepted Friday at the Red Cross shelter at Timberline, according to shelter staff. The shelter had 139 registered evacuees as of noon Friday. The next count wasn’t scheduled until midnight Friday.

Dave, a homeless man who has been on the streets for 40 years, said he woke up at his Poudre River camp just in time to get to safety. The 56-year-old man, who had been sleeping with a friend under a bridge spanning the river, woke about 1:30 a.m. Friday to find his bike submerged. He fled to Fort Collins Rescue Mission and was able to find a spot on the cafeteria floor.

(Page 2 of 2)

He’s lived through every major flood in Northern Colorado since the Big Thompson Flood in 1976 and knew the importance of getting “out of Dodge.” He said the river rose up to 4 feet in the four hours of sleep he got Thursday night.

He worries for his friend, who he’s been unable to find since waking up to encroaching waters, and others who sleep as close to the river as possible so as to not get caught by local law enforcement.

“There are a lot of homeless who don’t know what I do about this river,” Dave said. “This river can take you.”

Many of his homeless friends have lost “everything” to the water.

“This is an experience you’ll never forget,” he said. “People who are homeless have already lost almost everything. Storms like this don’t help people any.”

Amber Kuykendall, 33, was biking to Fort Collins from Greeley with a friend Thursday night. The couple came to Fort Collins in search of better homeless services.

When rains increased, Kuykendall said she and her friend had to throw their bikes into a ditch and cover up with a tarp in a failed attempt to stay dry. Halfway through the trip, they had to abandon the limited supplies they brought with them.

“We didn’t think we were going to make it through the night,” she said. “We were drenched from head to toe.”

No homeless providers have been able to provide an accurate count of those missing. On a good day, the population is hard to reach. When the floodwater rises, Murphy Center Director Zachary Penland said they can only hope for the best and wait.

“It will be days or even weeks until we know if all of our people are OK,” Penland said. “Our concern now is that some of them didn’t wake up in time and got carried away. That water comes up fast, and they camp very close to the river. There’s no good way to get the word out right now.”

Sarah Jane Kyle is the Coloradoan reporter covering volunteerism, nonprofits and philanthropy. Follow her on Twitter @sarahjanekyle or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reportersarahjane..